Pros:
-Discatchers (always a pro for me.)
-Alternate orange baskets on some holes
-Good exercise, this course is a bit of a hike.
-Excellent variety of Wooded and open holes
-Multiple tees
-Good signs designating holes and directing to next
Cons:
-Hard to find the beginning of the course.
-Rough terrain
-Map needs updating
-Tees can be difficult to find
Other Thoughts:
This is about an hour drive for me. The distance and the fact that Walnut Creek is just down the road from me doesn't have any bearing on the quality of this course. But in the interest of full disclosure, it does affect my perspective on some level.
That said, this is the second Kiwanis course I have played. I had some real difficulty in finding it. If you're coming from the east, don't trust Google. The location on this site is right, but Google tells you to use some roads that I'm pretty sure don't exist, or are on private property. Use the written directions on the course page and you'll be okay.
Once I got there I had some trouble finding it. This site says that the first tee is next to the practice basket near the tennis courts and that maps are in the black mailbox. The basket closest to the courts is 18 and there is a black mailbox next to it. Don't be fooled, this isn't it. There is an orange basket (alt basket for 9) viewable from the tennis courts, the mailbox with the maps is next to it.
The course is a little confusing. Some backtracking is required but there are enough bunny trails to prevent crossing too many fairways.
The hardest part is finding the tees. They are a little schizophrenic. Nearly every sign shows two tees (red and blue). However, distances are given for a third tee (gold). The signs don't give any indication of how to find the gold tees and the map doesn't show where any specific tees are (I only found one gold tee the whole time). Sometimes the signs and the course disagree. For instance, on five, the gravel tee (had to be the blue tee based on the sign) also was painted red on a part of it, while two red tee blocks where both tossed to the side of the right fairway 30 feet up.
Aside from not specifying specific tees the map was pretty good. Just don't take it too literally. It had me searching for #14 for about 15 minutes. It's very detailed, perhaps deceptively so. Treat it like a rough sketch and you'll be fine.
As far as the alternate baskets go, they are nice. Orange-topped discatchers. However, they are not on every hole and there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to which holes have them. The map is wrong about two of them. #9 is next to the blue tee for #1 and not up in the woods on the left of the reg #9. Also, #17 has an orange basket not on the map (visible from the regular basket).
My only complaint about the orange baskets is that they don't seem to add a whole lot to the course. #6 and #11 are alright. But some, #7, #16, for example, just seem like they were dropped in a clump of trees and don't really require any different type of shot to par the hole. Others make the course frustrating. Maybe this is just because the signs say they are all par 3's. But on #1 from the red tees, even if you drop a perfectly accurate 350 ft drive in front of an opening of trees, you still have a technical mid-range shot to get to the basket, and all that just for par.
But I'm being a little hard on this course. Once you get the hang of it I'm sure it goes a little more smoothly. There is a good bit of variety and someone with less of a commute could enjoy this I'm sure. I won't go back myself.
The last thing I'd say is that parts of the brush are really rough. I'm okay with trees and bushes, but certain sections are just bushwhack brush, or piles of cleared brush, the kinda stuff that you can walk across. Go off the fairway on the back nine and prepare to be scratched up big time.
Overall, this is a solid 18-hole course. The designer generally knew what they were doing and did a good job using the space. It looks like the plans were grand and they ran out of money before the tees were completed. If your in the area, it's worth the time to play, or if you're local and have the time to find all the tees or play with someone who knows them I can imagine it would be a great experience. It's not worth driving an hour if you already have some good courses where you live.